The present invention relates to an information printing system having information processing apparatuses and a printer including printing medium cassettes, and more particularly to an information printing system having information processing apparatuses and a laser beam printer including plural printing paper cassettes in which the information processing apparatuses share the laser beam printer having the plural printing paper cassettes.
In particular, the present invention relates to the laser beam printer in the information printing system in which a mount/detachment mechanism for the printing papers constituting a printing medium in the laser beam printer can be improved and control of the mount/detachment mechanism for the printing papers can be improved. The printing papers are accommodated in plural printing paper cassettes of a laser beam printer engine of the laser beam printer.
In a conventional information printing system, image data is edited by a personal computer and a word laser beam printer. Usually, the conventional information printing system is constituted such that plural information processing apparatuses share one laser beam printer, as disclosed in, for example Japanese patent laid-open No. 63-277135.
The above laser beam printer is constituted to print by using plural kinds of printing papers. However, the laser beam printer is not large enough to enable mounting of printing paper cassettes for accommodating all kinds (all sizes) of printing papers, and it is not economical to mount the printing paper cassettes for accommodating all kinds (all sizes) of printing papers, because it requires a large size laser beam printer.
Accordingly, in the conventional laser beam printer, since generally the number of printing paper cassette mounting ports is smaller than the number of kinds (sizes) of printing papers to be used, the laser beam printer is constituted to mount or detach selectively printing paper cassettes accommodating the printing papers to be selected or used.
In the above stated conventional laser beam printer, the printing paper cassette accommodates the printing papers corresponding to the printing paper size designation information, such a printing paper size designation information is included in the printing information.
When the printing information is input to the laser beam printer from the information processing apparatuses, it may occur that the printing paper cassette accommodating the designated printing paper according to the printing paper size designation information is not mounted on the laser beam printer.
Such an above fact for informing the non-mounting condition of the corresponding printing paper cassette is displayed on the information processing apparatus and then an operator is required to mount the corresponding printing paper cassette accommodating the designated printing papers to the laser beam printer.
In this time, when the printing paper cassette mounting port of the laser beam printer is a vacant port and is not in use, it is possible to mount the necessary printing paper cassette to the printing paper cassette mounting port. However, when the printing paper cassettes have been mounted on all of the printing paper cassettes mounting ports, it is necessary to detach one of them and it is necessary to mount the corresponding printing paper cassette on the laser beam printer.
In the above case, there is a case that the detached printing paper cassette has accommodated the printing papers so as to use or select to print another printing information, such another printing information is the printing waiting condition given by in accordance with the printing information in the former time or before the printing paper cassette has been detached.
In such above case, the laser beam printer can not to supply the designated printing papers at the printing time according to the another printing information, accordingly this causes an inconvenience the laser beam printer can not supply the designated printing papers which are accommodated in the printing paper cassette.
In the conventional information printing system in which plural information processing apparatuses share with one laser beam printer, since the printing paper cassette for accommodating the printing information at the printing waiting condition has been detached, there is a problem that the laser beam printer can not print to the printing papers in accordance with the above stated printing information.